The KKUPFL is the most fun and competitive fantasy league in the world (designed by two guys who own Erik Karlsson in their keeper pools), where the best, smartest and most dedicated fantasy hockey managers from across the globe test their mettle against one another in pursuit of ultimate fantasy glory.

The basics:

• Head-to-Head Points scoring format, hosted on Yahoo

• KKUPFL Scoring™: G (4.5), A (3), SOG (0.5), SHP (2), BLK (0.5), HIT (0.25), W (3), SV (0.30), GA (-1.5), Shutout (3)

• 14 teams in each division

• 18 players rostered (C, C, LW, LW, RW, RW, UTIL, UTIL, D, D, D, D, G, G, BN, BN, BN, BN)

• Climb your way to Tier 1 with promotions at the end of each season, and avoid being relegated to lower divisions.

This league is organized by the co-producers of the Keeping Karlsson Fantasy Hockey Podcast, Elan Dubrofsky and Brian Kom. They will act as the commissioners of the league.

The league and rules are continually evolving. Any rule in this document is subject to change without notice at any time, at the discretion of the commissioners. 

In case of any discrepancy between the KKUPFL Rules in this document and the settings shown on Yahoo, the Yahoo settings take precedence, unless otherwise determined by the commissioners.

In order to be eligible to compete in the KKUPFL, win prizes, and earn promotions to higher tiers, participants must remain a $5 (USD) patron of Keeping Karlsson for the duration of the fantasy season, without interruption. Aside from this, pool entry is free.

The format of the KKUPFL is Head-to-Head Points with weekly scoring periods. Fantasy managers compete one-on-one to accumulate the most fantasy points over the course of a Game Week (usually one week). The team with the most points earns a win in the standings. Points reset at the end of each Game Week. For more info, see here.

The KKUPFL has 8 ranked tiers, organized like a pyramid. Tier 1, the championship tier, has one division; Tier 2 has two divisions, Tier 3 has three divisions, and so on. The 8th tier has as many divisions as can be filled.

Each division within a tier operates as its own fantasy league within the KKUPFL. Divisions are comprised of 14 teams.

Managers are promoted, relegated and placed into a ranked tier according to their performance in the previous season. New managers joining the KKUPFL enter at the bottom tier. Managers are placed into divisions by the commissioners.

The ultimate goal of all KKUPFL managers is to ascend to Tier 1 by earning promotions each season. In Tier 1, managers compete for the title of undisputed KKUPFL Ultimate Champion, the highest honour in fantasy hockey.

See the KKUPFL 2022-23 player scoring results here.

Tier 1 managers will draft their teams via auction draft (which will be broadcasted live as an episode of Keeping Karlsson!). The auction draft budget is $260 per team.

All other managers will draft via a Slow Snake Draft on Fantrax. The maximum time per pick is 8 hours, with no daily pauses.

In 2022/23, we added a Round Reversal in the 3rd Round of our snake drafts. This means that after the 2nd round, we repeat the same draft order for the 3rd round (so 14th overall picks first in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds), and then the draft continues to snake from that point forward. This means 1st overall has 1st pick, 28th pick, 42nd pick, and 43rd pick in the first 4 rounds, instead of 1st, 28th, 29th, and 56th.

At the end of the draft, results will be copied over to each Yahoo league.

Teams have 18 active roster spots, allotted as follows:

• 2 Centers

• 2 Left Wings

• 2 Right Wings

• 4 Defensemen

• 2 Utility (Forward or Defenseman)

• 2 Goalies

• 4 Bench

• 4 Injured Reserve+ (aka IR+)

Each team may hold up to 4 eligible players in their Injured Reserve+ spots. Players eligible for IR+ include those that Yahoo designates as “DTD”, “O” or “IR”. When a player in an IR+ spot loses their IR eligibility, a manager may not make any other transactions until the ineligible player is removed from IR+. 

Rosters may be set daily. Each player is ‘locked’ into their roster spot at the starting time of their team’s game.

The 2023-24 schedule for the KKUPFL season features weekly matchups, usually beginning on a Monday and ending on a Sunday. Notable matchups with special scheduling this season are as follows:

• Week 1: begins October 10, ends October 15.

• Week 23: Playoffs begin; Round 1 begins March 18, ends March 24.

• Week 24: Semi-finals; begins March 25, ends March 31.

• Week 25: Finals; begins April 1, ends April 7.

Managers are allowed a maximum of 4 acquisitions per week. Managers are allowed an unlimited number of acquisitions over the course of the season. 

Free Agents

The KKUPFL uses Yahoo's Standard Waivers and Free Agents rules for player acquisition:

Whenever a player is dropped, they'll be temporarily frozen for a period of 1 day after the following waiver resolution time (3:00am ET). During this time, all managers can make a claim to add the player. If no one claims the player, the player becomes a Free Agent, which means anyone can add them to their team almost immediately, without competition from other managers. If a manager adds a Free Agent and then drops them in the same day, the player remains a Free Agent. Unclaimed players after the draft will go on waivers before becoming free agents.

Note: adds made before the start of Week 1 (October 10th 2023) will not count towards a manager's maximum weekly acquisitions.

Waiver Claims

For waiver claims, the KKUPFL will be using Yahoo's FAB (Free Agent Budget) waiver priority system, where each manager is given a budget of $100 to make offers on unclaimed players that are on waivers. The process is as follows:

• Offers are blind, so other managers can't see what your offer is.

• Your offer can range from $0 to the remainder of your budget.

• Highest offer at the end of the waiver period signs the player.

• Offer amount is deducted from the manager's budget that signs the player.

• Ties are broken by Continual Rolling List waiver priority.

Trading is allowed at any time between the conclusion of your draft and the trade deadline. The 2023-24 KKUPFL trade deadline is February 28th 2024. Trades may only be made between teams in the same division.

Contesting a Trade

Once a trade is accepted, there will be a 1 day waiting period before it is processed by Yahoo (i.e., at 3am ET the morning after the 24 hour waiting period has expired). During the waiting period, other teams in the division may contact Elan, Brian, Kevin or a commissioner via Discord if they have good reason to believe the trade may be unfair, unbalanced, anti-competitive, or protestable for any other reason. Elan and Brian will then determine if they will veto the trade or let it stand.

Counter Offers

The KKUPFL features an Counter Offer mechanism. When a trade is accepted, all managers have 24 hours to make a better offer for one side of the accepted deal. Any offer must be for the exact same player(s) included in the initial trade. If a new offer is accepted, both managers must post in their league Discord channel with the full details of the new deal and tag Elan and/or Brian. Upon commissioner approval, the initial trade will be cancelled and the new one registered. After one new offer is accepted for either side of an initial deal, no further counter offers may be accepted for either side of it.

The new trade may still be contested, as per the rules above. The commissioners reserve the right to adjust the 24 hour window at their discretion.

Example: Brian trades David Pastrnak to Patti for Zach Parise. Within 24 hours, Elan writes Brian to offer Andrei Vasilevskiy for David Pastrnak, and Brian accepts. The initial trade with Patti is cancelled, and Brian and Elan make their new Pastrnak-for-Vasilevskiy trade. 

Two managers are also allowed to counter their own trade. So the scenario would be:

1. Brian trades Karlsson to Patti for Zibanejad
2. Patti is approached with a counter offer from Elan
3. Patti goes to Brian to let him know that she's going to accept the counter from Elan unless Brian wants to offer more for Zibanejad
4. Brian and Patti agree on a new package where Brian will now give Karlsson + Hyman for Zibanejad.
5. The initial trade is cancelled and Brian and Patti put in the new trade.

Trading FAB

Managers may include FAB in trades. If FAB is included in an accepted deal, the managers involved must post the details in their league Discord channel as soon as the trade is accepted. Once the trade is processed, managers must tag Elan, Brian or Kevin so that the FAB balances can be updated.

Note: The maximum amount of FAB a manager can hold is $100. So a manager is not allowed to accept an offer that would put their FAB budget over $100.

The top six teams in the league standings at the end of the regular season qualify for a 3-round postseason tournament to determine a league champion. The next six teams in the league standings play in a consolation postseason tournament to determine places 7-12. Places 13-14 are determined by regular season standing. For each six team playoff, the top two seeded teams get a bye through the 1st round. See Yahoo!'s six-team playoff system here.

If a playoff matchup ends in a tie, the team with the higher playoff seed automatically wins the tiebreaker.  See Yahoo!'s “Higher seed wins” section here.

Managers are promoted and relegated at the end of each season based on their placement in their division's final standings at the conclusion of the fantasy playoffs. All KKUPFL managers are eligible for Fast Track Promotions™, which rewards the highest regular season points-getters with a pass straight to Tier 1 or Tier 3.

Promotion and relegation outcomes vary for each ranked tier. The following table shows which final 2022/23 standings placements will lead to each rated tier for 2023/24. For example, 1st and 2nd place managers from Tier 2 earn promotions to Tier 1; 1st place managers from Tier 3 also earn promotions to Tier 1. (Note: these may slightly change from year to year based on registration numbers and new rules.)

Division rankings are determined as follows:

1. League Winner

2. Top-seeded team at the end of the regular season (aka President's Trophy winner)

3rd*-14th. Yahoo final rankings (after playoffs)

*This could be 2nd-14th or 3rd-14th depending on if the winner is also the president's trophy winner.

KKUPFL 2023-24 Tiers 

Tier 1 (1 division - 14 people)

• T1 1st-4th (4 people)

• T2 1st-2nd (4 people)

• T3 1st (3 people)

• T4 1st (2 people: Top 2 winners by reg season points)

• Fast Track Winner (1 person)

Tier 2 (2 divisions - 28 people)

• T1 5th-7th (3 people)

• T2 3rd-7th (10 people)

• T3 2nd-4th (9 people)

• T4 1st (2 people: Bottom 2 winners by reg season points)

• T5 1st (4 people: Top 4 winners by reg season points)

Tier 3 (3 divisions - 42 people) [These add up to 46]

• T1 8th-14th (7 people)

• T2 8th-11th (8 people)

• T3 5th-7th (9 people)

• T4 2nd-4th (12 people)

• T5 1st (1 person: Bottom winner by reg season points)

• T6 1st (6 people)

• Fast Track Runner Up (1 person)

Tier 4 (4 divisions - 56 people) - [These add up to 61]

• T2 12th-14th (6 people)

• T3 8th-10th (9 people)

• T4 5th-7th (12 people)

• T5 2nd-4th (15 people)

• T6 2nd-3rd (12 people)

• T7 1st (7 people) 

Tier 5 (5 divisions - 70 people) [These add up to 80]

• T3 11th-14th (12 people)

• T4 8th-10th (12 people)

• T5 5th-7th (15 people)

• T6 4th-5th (12 people)

• T7 2nd-3rd (14 people)

• T8 1st (15 people)

Tier 6 (6 divisions - 84 people) [These add up to 91]

• T4 11th-14th (16 people)

• T5 8th-10th (15 people)

• T6 6th-9th (24 people)

• T7 4rd-6th (21 people)

• T8 2nd (15 people)

Tier 7 (7 divisions - 98 people) [These add up to 120]

• T5 11th-14th (20 people)

• T6 10th-11th (12 people)

• T7 7th-10th (28 people)

• T8 3rd-6th (60 people)

Tier 8 (8 divisions - 112 people) [These add up to 166]

• T6 12th-14th (18 people)

• T7 11th-14th (28 people)

• T8 7th-14th (120 people)

Tier 9

• New managers

Notes:

• If a ranked tier has an open spot from a manager that didn't return, managers in final standings positions not listed in the table above may be promoted into higher tiers. Highest priority goes to the player who had the highest division ranking in their division. Tie breaker is whoever was in the higher tier. 2nd tie breaker is whoever had the most regular season points.

• You'll notice that some tiers have more people allocated than space. That's to account for managers not returning next season. If it turns out there is not enough room in a tier for all of the managers, priority for who stays is the same as that for promotions into empty spaces as specified in the note above.

In the interest of fun and fairness for all in the league, managers are expected to remain reasonably active and competitive throughout the full NHL season. At minimum, this means making sure that:

1. Active players are in active roster spots, and not left on the bench

2. Sit/start decisions are being made appropriately (don't bench McDavid for Fabbri!)

3. Injured Reserve (IR) spots are being used effectively

When a manager is not meeting the minimum expectations for being active and competitive, they will be considered 'inactive'. A league commissioner will reach out to an inactive manager via Discord to check in and offer support/guidance, with the aim of helping the manager re-engage.

When a manager is deemed inactive, the following steps will be taken:

1. First time being inactive: Friendly reminder

2. Second time: Repeat warning

3. Third time: Removal from team at the Commissioners' discretion

Communication with managers will always be through Discord. If a commissioner cannot make contact with an inactive manager via Discord, the commissioners may assume control of the inactive manager's team and seek a replacement manager at their discretion.

We do understand when a manager is inactive for legitimate or extenuating circumstances, and will do all we can to accommodate a manager and their team in this situation.

If a manager has been removed from their team and would like to re-join the KKUPFL, they may do so by re-registering via the waitlist.

Note: A manager who replaces an inactive manager will not obtain that manager’s ranking in the KKUPFL, regardless of their finish in their division standings, but will be eligible for priority placement into the highest newly-created tiers for the following season.

The KKUPFL loves clever, novel and creative team names. The KKUPFL also has a policy prohibiting any team names that are implicitly or explicitly racist, sexist, homophobic, misogynistic, and the like. We also reserve the right to prohibit team names that are otherwise offensive, vulgar or distasteful. If your team name is in violation of this policy, you will be asked to change it.